Get your Weekly Tips and the new 2008 Declutter Calendar here:

Outside My Window… orange berries are on the tree, purple flowers on the bush. A lovely breeze is keeping things cool.

I am thinking… of writing and staying present today

I am thankful for… my son learning to drive, swinging at the park with the kids, fresh tomatoes

From the kitchen… fresh spinach from the farmer’s market, homemade crab cakes, and a tomato salad is planned for dinner tonight

I am wearing… a brown shirt with cream embroidery, jeans and a brown watch

I am creating… just finished scrapbooking the album for 2005 and today will get pictures for 2006 since all my pix are digital now

I am going… to walk on my errands to the post office and bank today

I am reading… Water for Elephants from Sara Gruen for Wednesday’s book club

I am hoping… to stay peaceful today despite to many to do’s for the day

I am hearing… blessed silence

Around the house… I cleaned up the scrapbook area and cleaned my office this week, books and clothes need to be put away from the living room

One of my favorite things… a good stretch in the morning

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: writing lots of letters and making calls to friends and relatives, preparing for teaching Sunday School, inviting the newest pastor’s wife to lunch, and putting people first

A new season is upon us. I know I’ve let some things slide over the summer. Here are some ways to get back on track.

Declare an email backlog. Create an email folder called backlog and put all the old emails there. Mark Forster in Do It Tomorrow suggests making a daily initiative of taking a few minutes first thing to work on your backlog. And any new email that comes in needs to be dealt with by tomorrow to keep on top of things.

Declare a paper backlog. Do you have piles of papers all over? Put them all in a box to be sorted after your email backlog is handled. In the meantime you have a fresh, empty inbox for your papers. Deal with your papers by tomorrow and you won’t stay behind.

Go through your house and clean up clutter hot spots – tops of tables, unused chairs, corners, etc. Better yet, get your family involved to get it done faster.

Look over your routines. Did any schedules change? Is your daily schedule unrealistic? Is there any cleaning you can move from weekly to bi-weekly?